Regulatory Compliance, Human Competency, and Maritime Safety Perception in the Era of Electric Vehicle Transportation: Evidence from Indonesian Ferry Operations

Abstract

Indonesia's accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption has created a regulatory and institutional challenge of considerable urgency for domestic ferry operations, where solid-state battery fire risks intersect with persistent competency gaps among seafarers and structural limitations in multi-agency governance frameworks. This study investigates the relationships among regulatory compliance (X4), human resource capacity for fire mitigation (X3), and maritime safety perception (Y) in the context of EV cargo transport on the ASDP Padang–Mentawai ferry route. Using a concurrent mixed-method design — integrating Likert-scale surveys (N = 60; α = 0.892), semi-structured interviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) — data were collected from maritime students, lecturers, and active seafarers affiliated with Politeknik Pelayaran Sumatera Barat between February and June 2026. Regression analysis identified human resource capacity (β = 0.43, p < 0.01) as a stronger predictor of safety perception than regulatory compliance (β = 0.31, p < 0.01). FGD thematic analysis surfaced three structural governance gaps: seafarer competency deficits in thermal runaway management, fragmented inter-agency coordination between operators and regulators, and curriculum misalignment in maritime polytechnic institutions. The study contributes a Safety–Competency–Governance (SCG) framework for EV maritime safety management and provides empirically grounded curriculum and policy recommendations for Indonesia's maritime education and regulatory institutions.